Track for track-laying vehicles



Oct. 19, 1943. c. 'P. GALANo'r 2,532,313`y y TRACK F03 TRAGK-LAYING VEHICLES Filed Sept. 3, 1942 2 Sheets-Shea?l 1 Oct-19, 1943. c. P. GALANo'r 2,332,313

TRACK Fon TnAcx-LAYING vEnIcLEs Filed sept. s, -1942 2 sheets-sheet 2 Paiemd'oct. 19, 1943 UNITED STATES lPArisjNT N`orr1cs y y 'Y Y y 'rvRAck ron TRIS-,rlNG VEHICLKS 'y Y I f. Camille P. Galanot, Alliance, Ohio,` assignor of one-half to James A. lWatson, Jr., Silver Spring, Md..

'5 Application September 3, 1942, Serial No. 157,2ilbk 5v claims.

v`'This invention relatesto tracks adaptedfor use with vehicles of the track-laying or crawler type, such as tractors for agricultural and industrial uses, and militaryvehicles such as tanks. The general object ofthe invention isV the provisionV of a rnovel track having improved strength characteristics over thosenow in use, and havu ing increased resistance to displacement relative to the track--guiclimgl elements of the vehicle.

' Another object is the provision of a track comprising a belt and a plurality yof detachable trac-v tion shoes, said shoes being rprovided With rubber facings on their inner sides, which engage the idler Wheels of the vehicle, and with *interc-harige-` able rubber and 4steel. membersfconstituting the outer orA ground engagingjsuriaces of the shoes.

Accordingto one form of thev invention, each traction shoe, which comprises an inner and an outer portion secured on opposite sides of the endless track belt, consists of'la rubber block on the inner side of the belt and a steel grouser plate on the outer side. In this form, the invention further contemplates the useof .rubber inserts adapted to b e secured between thedown- Wardly projecting 'ilanges 4ory 'grousers of the grouser plate and providing a resilientI groundengaging surface for the track when the vehicle is'passing over roadways or other hard surfaces. In another form, the invention provides'traction shoe'scomprisin'g inner and 'outer portionsy of ref inforcedresilientmateriaL'suchjas rubber, with provision Vfor securing a steel ygrouserplate' on the ground-engaging side of` each outer portion when necessary for adequate traction sand, mud, or other yieldingmedia..` v

' As regards the belt, it is an object of the invention to provide an endless belt having arnain tension element consisting of a plurality of thin,

relatively Wide ,layers of stainless steel, or other vsteel having high tensile strength, where/by. the, belt is substantially unstretchable,'is quite flexible yet has` greatV strength in tension,v and a considerable resistance to lateral distortion which might cause it to deviate from its guideway on the vehicle. Preferably the tension element is made up of a plurality ofrconvolutions of a conT tinuous thin strip Yof steel, which increases they tensile strength of the tension member'as compared with'one made ofa plurality of separate" strips secured together. f L

' The track device of the present inventiony is particularlyuseful in connection with tanks and similar military vehicles of the crawler type. ,The track nowincommon use for such vehicles ycornprises a series of individual shoes having` laterally projecting pivot pins, the several shoes being connected by members embracing the adjacent pins of contiguous shoes and vhaving pivotal movement relative thereto, said connecting members lserving also as` guide members and as sprocket necessitating frequent replacement of parts.

Also, since a track of this type is essentially a chain, rather than a belt, theA entire track may bel put out of action by the failure, partial or l entire, of a single traction shoeor connector.

Track belts comprised of a plurality of cables encased in rubber are also in use for certain types of track-laying vehicles, and serve to overcome certain of the aforesaid disadvantages of the ypivoteconn'ected type track, but such belts have not been adopted for heavierfvtypes of ve hicles, such as medium and heavy tanks, probablyv due to the fact that they cannot-'be made sufliciently strong and, ati the same time, suffi-l yciently flexible. -Flexure of a large-diameter cable about a relatively short radius involves considerable friction and, what is more important,

. involves stretching 'of the outerjstrands, i. e.,

those farthest from v'the center of lieiure, with possible deformation of the inner strands.v Furthermore, the use" of large-diameter cables neoes'sarily re'sultsi'n a belt having a`relatively great thickn'ess, including the rubber webs between the cables, thus 5 further decreasing iieXibility and increasing friction.

` The disadvantages ofthe last-mentioned type of track belt are overcome, according to the present invention, 'by making` the main tension men1- berief the belt in the form of a relatively wide and'thirribb'on comprised Aof a plurality of convolutions I of thin steel strip of high tensile strength, preferably stainless steel. In this way thef're'quisite tensile strength jis provided, with rniiiirnul'nw thickness', and great flexibility may be obtainedgwith afminimum of friction. Prei- ..`erably,the`tension`member is,` fabricated ona drum,-whereby the outer layers of steel are Vslightly longer than the inner layers, and the strip ismaintained under considerable tension during the winding, whereby. stretching of the cuter layers during use is substantially eliminatedand friction Vbetween the several layers during ilexure isv reduced to a minimum; K

`vOther and-further objects, features and vadvantages of the present invention will be apparent to one skilled in the art from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a diagrammatic side elevation of a tank equipped with tracks made according to the present invention;

Figure 2 is a longitudinal vertical section through a section of track;

Figure 3 is a transverse vertical section 'on line 3-3 of Figure 2;

Figure 4 is an end elevation of a traction shoe and associated guide and sprocket element;

Figure 5 is a bottom plan View of a portion of track, certain parts being broken away;

Figure 6 is a longitudinal lvertical sectionv through a traction shoe according to one form of the invention;

Figure 7 is a fragmentary transverse section on line 1--1 of Figure 6; and

Figure 8 is a fragmentary vertical section showing the shoe of Figures 6 and 7 with, a steel grouser plate attached thereto.

In ordertofacilitate an understanding of the invention, reference is made to the embodiment thereof shown in the accompanying drawings and detailed descriptive language is employed. It will nevertheless be understood that lno limitation of the invention isv thereby intended and that various changes and .alterations .are oon'- templated such as would ordinarily occur to vone skilled in the art tofwhich the invention .re-

lates. Y

Referring to Figure l, the numeral IIJ designates one of the driving sprockets of atractorv or tank, which is also provided with-the usual idlers .or bearing wheels H, on which the weight of the vehicle is supported, and the idler sprocket I2, which latter assists in supporting and .guiding the track, as well as maintainingvthrough spring means not shown, the requisite operating tension in the track, while permittingconsiderable deflection thereof when an obstacle or uneven surface is encountered.

The track comprises generallyay belt I3 provided with closely spaced traction shoes I4, each of which carries, at each lateral extremity, a guide sprocket element I5 for engaging the sprocket wheels I0. y In the usual case, a spaced pair of sprocket wheels is yprovided for driving each track, the respective Wheels of said pair being adapted to engage the guide and sprocket elements carried at` the opposite sides of` the track. The elements I5 also serve'to'guide the track relative to the idler wheels II and ,idler sprocket I2. g

Referring to Figures 2 Land 3 it will b ef'seen that the belt I3`comprises a tension member I6 consisting of a plurality, vfor example from six to twelve yor more, of thin strips or layers of steel. The steel should be of-good quality, having a high tensile strength,- and it has been found that socalled stainless steel is suitable for the purpose. The several layers are quite thin; for Iexample .010 in thickness, and are of a suitable width depending on the desired overall width of the track, for example from 8" to 12" or more.

The tension member I6 is provided withrivet holes, preferably while still on the Winding drum,

and the cross members I1 are riveted thereon at;v

spaced intervals, each cross member preferably comprising inner and outer plates I1', |12 positioned no opposite faces of the tension member as seen, for example, in Figure 3. Five rivets lI8 (Fig. 5) maybe employed for securing the crossl members to the tension member, and apertures I9 are provided through the cross members and tension member for securing the traction shoes thereto. Preferably, at this stage of the manufacture, the belt is provided with a rubber coating 2B except for the outer faces of the cross members and the walls of the apertures I9. Thickened portions 2I may be formed in the rub.- ber coating to assist in positioning the traction shoes, to transmit a portion of the tension stresses, and to assist in preventing the entry of foreign matter between the shoes and the belt. Y

' Figures 2 5 illustrates the preferred form of traction shoe, comprising a block 22 of rubber, reinforced by a metal insert 23, which latter carries internally threaded bosses 24, and a steel shoe or grouser plate 25 having downwardly extending transverse flanges 26 and 21, the block 22 being vpositioned upon the inner face of the belt `I3 and the plate 25 upon the outer face thereof. Hollow bolts 28 extend through the plate .and kbelt I3, and have threaded engagement with the bosses 24 for securing theplate 25 and block 22 to the belt. The bolts 28 are internally threaded in order that, for operation. onhard surfaces, rubberiinserts 25 may be secured between the flanges 26, 21 of the plates25 by vmeans of bolts 30, which engage the internal threads of the bo-lts 26. Preferably, the bolts 28 are locked by meanscf metal clips 3l, retained by studs 32 (Fig.A 2). The rubber inserts 23 are reinforced by metal plates 33.

In order to provide for mounting the guideand sprocket elements. I5, the inner block 22 and plate 25 are each provided with-flanged lateral Vextensions 34, (Fig.Y 3)'to which theguideand sprocket elements are secured by bolt 36, the guide and sprocket Velement encircling the lextentions 34 andV 35 and thus serving to assist in clamping the blocks 22 and plates .25 ,to the f belt. Preferably, for convenience in manufacturing, the extensions 34 are separatelyfformed and then welded to the respective ends of the fmetal inserts 23 of the blocks 22, as at 31 (Fig. 3) i The extensions 35 may be integral with the plates 25.

Instead of the arrangementJ illustrated inA Fig.

ures 2-5, the traction shoe may beconstituted -as seen in Figures 6 .and 7, wherein the `outer or ground-engaging block is substantially identical with the inner block 22, except that it does not have the bosses 24, but is provided withrecesses 4I for the receptionof the heads of the-hollow bolts 42.

If desired the block 22 may be applied to the outer side of ther belt, vand the .block to the inner side, as seen in Figure 8. In thiscase, when desired, for operation in mud or other soft media, a grouser plate 43 maybe secured on the groundengaging Vside ofthe outer blockv by bolts 44 extending through the hollow bolts 42.

Having thus described the invention, what is y claimed as new and desired to be secured-by Letters Patent is: v I

l. In a trackadapted for use with'vehicles Aof the crawler type having .drive sprockets and idler wheels, a continuous tension member comprising a plurality of thin layers ofsteel yof ,high tensile strength, cross members secured to said tension Amember at spaced interals,v and tractionshoes secured to said cross memberssaid traction .shoes comprising innery and outer Vportions detachably connected by means extending through said cross members. Y

2. In a track adapted for usewith vehicles of the crawler type having drive sprockets and idler Wheels, a continuous tension member comprising a plurality of thin layers of steel of high tensile strength, cross members secured to said tension member at spaced intervals, and traction shoes secured to said crossl members, said traction shoes comprising inner and outer portions detachably connected by means extending thro-ugh said cross members, said inner and outer traction shoe portions comprising metal-reinforced blocks of resilient material.

3. In a track adapted for use with vehicles of the crawler type having drive sprockets and idler Wheels, a continuous tension member comprising a plurality of thin layers of steel of high tensile strength, cross members secured to said tension member at spaced intervals, and traction shoes secured to said cross members, said traction shoes comprising inner and outer portions detachably connected by means extending through said cross members, said inner portion comprising a metalreinforced block of resilient material and said outer portion comprising a metal grouser plate.

4. In a track adapted for use with Vehicles of Lil the crawler type having drive sprockets and idler Wheels, a continuous tension member comprising a plurality o-i thin layers of steel of high tensile strength, cross members secured to said tension member at spaced intervals, and traction shoes secured to said cross members, said traction shoes comprising inner and outer portions detachably connected by means extending through said cross members, said inner portion comprising a metalreinforced block of resilient material and said outer portion comprising a metal grouser plate, and a detachable insert of reinforced resilient material.

5. In a track adapted for use with vehicles of the crawler type having drive sprockets and idler Wheels, a continuous tension member comprising a plurality of thin layers of steel of high tensile strength, cross members secured to said tension member at spaced intervals, and traction shoes secured to said cross members, said traction shoes comprising inner and outer blocks of reinforced resilient material, and a metal grouser plate detachably secured outwardly of said outer block.

CAMILLE P. GALANOT. 

